DragonAge Origins: Dalish Elf
by yukiro-fayt1
Summary: This is a short story featuring my Dalish elf warden named Amalthea. It is set pre-game and shows at a hint of her time with her best friend Tamlen before they had become hunters.


Amalthea tied her hair back and locked it into place with an old hair-clip that had once belonged to her mother. Her elven ears poked out very slightly from the purple strands that covered them; showing her heritage off only to those who were close enough to really inspect her; as if her eyes and smaller than human stature did not give her away already.  
The clan had been in these parts of the words for the best part of the week now and she wasn't sure for how long they'd stay in this particular neck of the woods. She fussed with a lock of hair before she seemed pleased with the look. Today was an important day for her, and she looked forward to it. Today she'd become a true hunter; along with her friend Tamlen, she assumed. That was; if he wasn't off causing trouble again – not like she could say anything to him about it though. She caused as much trouble for them as he did, though they never meant harm to anyone, least of all their clan.  
She jumped down from her aravel and glanced about her for any signs of her friend. She spotted him not far off, waiting, she assumed for her or maybe the keeper. Who knew what he had been up too while she had gotten herself ready.

He brushed a hand through his short, blonde hair and shifted on the spot once or twice before he noticed Amalthea heading his way and he raised a hand in greeting, "Aneth ara" he said lightly, his greyish blue eyes seemed to brighten at her arrival.  
"Aneth ara, Tamlen," Amalthea replied, "I see you are more excited to get this day under way, even more so than I am." She lightly teased, though there was a hint of shyness to her tone.  
He chuckled lightly and gave his usual roguish grin towards her, "you know me," he began, "always up for an adventure."  
Amalthea rolled her pinkish purple eyes at him, though she grinned perhaps as much as he did. She couldn't wait to go out and actually hunt something to prove herself a true huntress, and that she was of age. She was a little nervous about getting the vallaslin as she had heard it was quite a painful process. She knew it required blood and that the tattoo was carved upon ones face. She also knew that the vallaslin marks were varied and that they reprecented each of the Gods that the elves worshiped. Each Elf had a vallaslin best fitted to their nature or craft. It was a ritual that was vital to proving an elf had come of age.  
If one cried out during such, then the keeper would deem you weak; or still a child, at the least. Most cases the ritual would stop, and you would have to wait until the keeper thought you were ready to become of age.  
It was something all elves feared happening to them. Amalthea knew Tamlen would be fine with it. He always did endure pain easier than her, but then he was a warrior much more than she. She was better at hunting from a distance with her bow than close combat like he was and thus, rarely ever got hurt.

It wasn't long before they both left the clan's camp, and made their way deeper into the forest. Tamlen held his impish grin, causing Amalthea to grin again herself. She couldn't help it, and admitted to herself quietly that Tamlen was probably a bad influence on her... or maybe she was the bad influence? However, what was certain was the two had been very close since they were young. She adored him and trusted him fully, and he returned it in kind.

Although the two could obviously not keep themselves from grinning, they moved silently through the trees. Daring to not make even the slightest of sounds. They wanted to hunt something that their clan could be proud of, as well as find a practical use for.  
A pelt of a wolf would come in handy during the colder days, or a bears pelt would be much better. Though they dared not tempt fate at this time. The female bears were raising their cubs during this season and an angry female bear was as scary as any beast they could encounter.  
The two stopped grinning after hearing a rustling in the bushes ahead, Tamlen made subtle movements with his hand and Amalthea understood exactly what he was telling her; _Stay low and ready your bow_.

The Elven lass brushed a stray lock of her purple hair aside and then tightened the bowstring ready. She kept her focus ahead, the grin subsiding as she became more engrossed in the hunt. She darted a quick look to Tamlen, who she had to admit looked quite handsome during the times where he was serious in his task. Though she preferred his light-hearted nature more than when he was serious. It was what she adored about him.

She had been lost in her thoughts when she heard Tamlen let out a startled yelp which caused her to snap back into reality. "What? What happened?!" She called out as she started to move closer to the bush where he had vanished to; only to find him trying to untie himself from the bush. A trickle of blood rolled down his arm, though the wound wasn't anything to worry about; a branch had merely scratched him as it caught onto his leather armor.

"Don't just stand there laughing, Lethallan!" Tamlen said helplessly as he tugged at the bush, this only caused him to become more entangled in the branches. "A little help wouldn't go amiss, you know?" He continued.

Amalthea paused for a moment to take in a breath of air before she began to laugh again, though this time she did aid Tamlen in escaping his 'prisoner' as it were. She had feared he had stumbled into a bears den or some human trap; but no, for once it was something simple.

A moment or two passed and Tamlen was finally free of the bush and Amalthea was tending to the scrape upon his arm with some herbs. She wasn't as good with herbs as some of the other elven clansmen but she knew a bit about using them to help heal wounds. Luckily it was just a scratch and nothing worse.  
She lightly touched the wound with the medicine which caused Tamlen to stiffen somewhat at the sudden stinging sensation and gave him an apologetic smile.  
"Only you could get into a fight with a bush of all things, Lethallin." She said teasingly, "and only you could be beaten by said bush." She continued, grinning widely.

"Very funny." Tamlen said giving her hair a playful ruffle, she hated it when he did that and he knew it. Amalthea gave him a pouted glare and then began to tidy her hair up again, fussing with it until she had it how she liked.  
"Well, looks like we'll have to postpone our hunt for a little while until the blood stops." He then sighed a little, "I'd rather not encourage bears or wolves to think I'm an easy meal."  
"It's just a scratch... but I guess you're right. It might get worse if you attack any more bushes. Shall we take a short rest and have a snack? I have some apples with me we can eat."  
Tamlen nodded and smiled at her, causing her to smile somewhat sheepishly back at him.

"Even if we don't manage to hunt anything worthy today," he began, seeming somewhat sheepish himself, "I'm glad we got to spend some time together."

She was glad she had her head turned at that moment as it hid the blush upon her face, from Tamlen. She finally finished playing around with her satchel and pulled out two red apples from within. She handed him one gingerly and then looked up to the sky as they sat on a little raise in the ground.  
"It is a nice day for relaxing and hunting with those you care about, I agree." She said softly, smiling tenderly.  
She blushed a little again as she felt Tamlen's hand rest upon her own. Though the two did not look at each other, she could tell he too was smiling. Even if they said nothing to each other; she knew that they both shared the same feeling of admiration for one another. They were close friends, and perhaps in the future they would be more than that, but for now she was content to leave it at that.

"...ake up." Amalthea gave a little groan as she turned over in her sleep.  
"...thea?" She gave a grumble, realizing that someone was talking to her.  
"Wake up, Amalthea..." Alistair's voice became more clear as she blinked her eyes open, they felt heavy as if she'd been crying, and indeed she had been. She slowly sat up, using her hand to rub at her eyes before she focused on Alistair who was kneeling beside her with a worried expression.  
She gave him a wary smile to show him she was fine and then glanced aside. She frowned softly as she gazed past the camp and into the wilderness beyond. It had been nothing more than a dream, of a past life that she could no longer reach out and touch. She closed her eyes tightly to keep herself from crying again and then, after a moment turned to face the blonde human male once more.

"You were crying and mumbling in your sleep. I was worried you were feeling poorly or something worse..." Alistair said giving the Dalish woman another worried look.

"I am fine... I-... I apologize, I did not mean to worry you." She said quietly with a hint of caution to her tone. She still wasn't sure if she should trust this man, but thus far he had been kind to her. He reminded her somewhat of Tamlen with his playful jests and that hurt her at times.  
He nodded his head in understanding to her and offered a comforting smile, "we should pack away the camp and get a move on, now that you're awake then." He said, wishing not to pry too much, for which she was thankful for.

They packed up the tents quietly, while Morrigan kept mostly to herself. Amalthea didn't mind too much, she wasn't sure how much she could trust the woman human either. What she wouldn't give for another elf in the party.  
She sighed softly, there was more important things to fret over than being stuck with a bunch of humans. Such as killing the darkspawn. At least she felt this way she could get revenge for Tamlen.  
Oh how she missed him.  
She regretted having never truly expressed her feelings to him, and now that he was lost to her, she regretted having survived when he presumingly had not.


End file.
